England win over ABs one to savour ...

Date: December 02 2012

Ian Chadband

LONDON: As England centre Manu Tuilagi slowed and dawdled to the try line with almost preposterous cockiness, then touched down only to be given a joky push in the back from his laughing shadow Mike Brown, 80,000 at Twickenham had to rub their eyes, trying to comprehend whether this really was a grand illusion.

What, the All Blacks being toyed with? The team argued by some to be the best ever now having the mickey ripped out of them? And England's supposed no-hopers suddenly playing with such swagger and flair, that they were giving a pretty fair impression of the world champions themselves.

It was hard for the home fans to take it all in. The head was left spinning by those eight minutes when, with the All Blacks finally having found their touch, they were unfathomably blown away by three English tries.

The real joy for England fans? The first two of those scores might have been taken straight from the All Blacks imprint, attacks of invention, executed with deadly accuracy at speed.

Tuilagi was magnificent, making both with his barrelling pace allied to the deftest skill. The offload to free Brad Barritt was the sort of skill New Zealand expect from their men as a matter of routine and the way Tuilagi blasted past Dan Carter before putting Chris Ashton away again identified his exceptional talent.

These magical minutes will become part of Twickenham folklore, for it was something so rarely seen there - victory with genuine elan.

Yes, it was built on a towering performance by the forwards, but it was also peppered by the same sort of searing brilliance from the backs last witnessed against Australia two years ago.

Wins over the All Blacks are as rare as hen's teeth, but true hammerings of the All Blacks? This was utterly unprecedented.

It was the first time in 176 Tests, a run stretching back 14 years, that New Zealand had gone into half-time without a point on the board.